Intesa Sanpaolo sells €500m prime office portfolio to Coima

Intesa Sanpaolo’s €500 million portfolio of prime office buildings is being transferred to Coima, as part of a deal between Italy’s largest bank in terms of assets and the Milan-based real estate company. Intesa Sanpaolo will take shares in Coima’s investment vehicles, and the two groups will continue their partnership in the real estate sector.

The agreement was signed “to evaluate the best opportunities to develop the banking group’s properties in a changing real estate market environment,” Coima said.

The agreement, which reflects changing strategies in real estate in response to the increased emphasis on ESG objectives in the sector, revolves around the sale to investment vehicles managed by Coima Sgr of a real estate portfolio of Intesa Sanpaolo with a total value of over €500 million.

The completion of the transaction is contingent on fulfilment of certain conditions. At the time of the contribution, Intesa Sanpaolo will receive shares in the Coima investment vehicles, which will be identified according to the type of real estate in the portfolio and the strategy for developing its value.

The assets included in the transaction, which are all office buildings, are three prime properties located in Rome at Via dei Crociferi 44 and in Milan at Via Clerici 4-6 / Piazza Ferrari 10 and at Via Verdi 9-11-13.

There are also additional properties that will be vacated or disposed of in the coming months, which are located in several cities, including Milan, Turin, Rome, Brescia, Bergamo, Bologna, Padua and Florence.

The transaction will result in a significant reduction of Intesa Sanpaolo’s real estate assets.

The agreement will also see Intesa Sanpaolo and Coima examine further areas of collaboration in the real estate sector that could generate business opportunities of common interest.

The announcement is part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s broader Smart Property Management strategy, as set out in the 2022-2025 business plan presented by Carlo Messina, the bank’s CEO.

Related initiatives include a “strong acceleration towards the approach to work and a significant modernisation of working environments in office spaces”, Intesa Sanpaolo said. “Investment properties are to be fully monetised through disposals and active management via leasing or the creation of new businesses.”